Snapshots: Dahlen, Teply, Boston University
Many believe that talented, but under-performing forward Jonathan Dahlen may be primed for a breakout year in 2019-20, beginning his first full season with the San Jose Sharks. Dahlen, 21, was acquired by the Sharks at the trade deadline in a swap with the Vancouver Canucks for fellow Swedish forward prospect Linus Karlsson. Dahlen had failed to do enough in the AHL to earn a call-up to the Canucks in his first season in North America, but after a four-point outburst in the final seven games of the regular season with AHL San Jose, many felt a change of scenery could be all he needed to battle for an NHL spot this upcoming season. However, Dahlen may not break camp with the Sharks this fall because he may not even be in camp. Swedish news source Hockey Sverige reports that Dahlen is expected to return to his former club, Timra IK. Dahlen is in the final year of his entry-level contract, but that deal does include a European Assignment Clause, which allows Dahlen to play in Europe if he does not make the NHL club. The fact that this information has been leaked so early before training camp likely indicates that Dahlen either believes or knows that he won’t be playing for the Sharks in 2019-20 and would prefer to return home to Sweden rather than suit up for the Barracuda. Dahlen exercised his European Assignment Clause in the first year of his ELC, playing for Timra rather than the AHL’s Utica Comets. After a season in Utica last year that left a lot to be desired, Dahlen is likely eager to get back to his roots, especially since Timra has been promoted to the SHL from the minor league Allsvenskan since the last time he played there. If Dahlen does indeed jump overseas next season, it doesn’t mean his career with San Jose is over. The Sharks would merely need to make him a qualifying offer next season to retain his rights moving forward, should he re-discover his game and try again to make it in the NHL.
- One player making the reverse move, going from Europe to North America, is Chicago Blackhawks prospect Michal Teply. Teply played professionally in his native Czech Republic last season, but is ready to return to the junior ranks. After being selected No. 4 overall in the recent CHL Import Draft, Teply has delivered on the pick used by the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice, as the team announced he has signed. The Ice, who are moving from Kootenay to Winnipeg and looking for a fresh start after a second-to-last league finish, are likely to see immediate results from Teply. A big winger who uses his size well to create space and make plays, many were surprised that Teply fell into the fourth round for the Blackhawks. In fact, there was a consensus among the top scouting services that Teply was a surefire second- or third-round pick. From fourth round to fourth overall, Winnipeg still may have found a steal in Teply, as the skilled forward has already proven he can compete with men at the pro level and could be in for breakout year against junior competition.
- Boston University has found its new starting goaltender via transfer. The program has announced that a pair of graduate transfers have joined the team in Alex Brink and Sam Tucker. While Brink was a nice piece as a depth forward at Brown University, Tucker is the big news. The 23-year-old keeper split starts in net for Yale University over the past three seasons, including leading the team in appearances in each of the past two years, and his numbers took a sharp upturn in 2018-19. He now joins an elite NCAA program in BU where superior defense and possession ability should allow him to excel even more. After losing Jake Oettinger to the pros, it was looking like the Terriers were going to enter next season with untested Vinnie Purpura in net, but Purpura can take another year to continue developing while Tucker presumably takes over the starter role. Brink and Tucker join a new group of players that is arguably the best recruiting class in the nation, helping to make up for an exodus of nearly a third of last year’s roster to the pros.
Snapshots: Point, Bobrovsky, McDavid
The top end of the RFA market is really making an impact this offseason as it appears most of the players are waiting to see what others get. But eventually, someone will have to be the next to sign. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski cites one GM who believes that Tampa Bay center Brayden Point will be the next one to put pen to paper on a new deal. It was reported earlier this summer that Montreal had approached him about an offer sheet but they were quickly rebuffed so the threat of him considering an offer sheet elsewhere may not be so high. However, the cap situation for the Lightning still isn’t the greatest, even following the trade of J.T. Miller to Vancouver and the fact that Ryan Callahan will be on LTIR next season. Tampa Bay has forced some young players to go the bridge route in the past and it’s something they may have to do here but if so, this is something that could wind up dragging out for a while yet.
Elsewhere around the league:
- New Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky opened up to Sport 24’s Daria Tubolseva regarding his departure from Columbus. He mentioned that he informed management following their postseason exit in 2018 that he had no intentions of staying with the Blue Jackets but management decided to try to re-sign him anyway at various points throughout the season. Bobrovsky called Florida his top option when he was assessing teams to sign with and he wasted little time joining them, inking a seven-year, $70MM contract shortly after the signing period opened up on July 1st.
- Oilers GM Ken Holland indicated in an appearance on Sportsnet 590 (audio link) that everything he’s hearing regarding Connor McDavid’s recovery is positive but stopped short of guaranteeing that the center will be ready for training camp. McDavid suffered a knee injury in the final game of the regular season and while surgery wasn’t required, a lengthy rehab period was expected.
Snapshots: Maroon, Connor, Condon
While Pat Maroon has indicated that he would like to remain in St. Louis, Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes that both sides would be better off if the winger didn’t re-sign with the Blues. The 31-year-old had an up-and-down season in 2018-19 but did provide a level of physicality that not many others in their bottom six group could. However, they have plenty of winger depth in the mix already so it’s not as if there’s a glaring vacancy for the St. Louis native to fill. At this point, Maroon is seeking a multi-year deal which is something that the Blues clearly won’t be giving him. But if a one-year pact is all he can get, there are other teams that can offer a more prominent opportunity than he’d get by staying with his hometown team. We’ll see in the coming weeks how important playing close to home will be for the veteran.
Elsewhere around the league:
- There were talks regarding a potential offer sheet for Jets winger Kyle Connor during the RFA interview period and Sportsnet’s Sean Reynolds reports that those talks have continued. The 22-year-old had a strong 2018-19 campaign, recording 34 goals and 32 assists, career bests in both categories while logging over 19 minutes a night. That has put him in line for a massive raise from his $925K entry-level salary. Winnipeg has roughly $17.5MM in cap room (per CapFriendly) to re-sign Connor, fellow RFA winger Patrik Laine, and a few other depth players to round out their roster.
- While Mike Condon is coming off a particularly rough season in Ottawa, Jonathan Willis of The Athletic suggests (subscription required) that the netminder could be an interesting trade chip. He’s clearly not in the plans of the Senators for next season but possesses a contract that could be of interest to some cap-strapped teams. He carries a $2.4MM cap hit but a $3MM salary; it’s possible that a team against the Upper Limit could move a back-diving contract (higher cap hit, lower salary) for him, allowing them to save some cap space while the Sens would gain an asset and potentially save a bit of actual money. Condon battled hip issues last season but is expected to be ready for training camp.
Snapshots: Gusev, Dotchin, Prospects
The Vegas Golden Knights still haven’t come to an agreement with Nikita Gusev, but there is coming a time when they’ll need to make a final decision on the restricted free agent. Gusev’s Russian agent Yuriy Nikolayev spoke to Championat and explained (via Google translate) that there is a “certain deadline” when they will turn to negotiate with SKA St. Petersburg, who currently own his rights in the KHL.
Gusev signed his entry-level contract with the Golden Knights just a few months ago and burned through it without actually ever playing a game for the team. The team issued him a qualifying offer as an RFA, but haven’t yet been able to come to an agreement on a new contract. The only bit of leverage Gusev really has in this position is a possible return to the KHL, as he was not eligible for arbitration and cannot sign an offer sheet.
- According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, the Tampa Bay Lightning have reached a settlement with Jake Dotchin on the grievance he filed after seeing his contract terminated last fall. Dotchin allegedly showed up to training camp out of shape, causing the Lightning to place him on unconditional waivers and cut ties with him. He eventually signed with the Anaheim Ducks and played 20 games in the NHL last season, but had filed a grievance through the NHLPA for his lost salary. Smith reports that the two sides settled without having to go to an arbitration, which potentially could have set a precedent for other cases in the future. The details have not been disclosed.
- Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) has released his top-50 drafted prospect list, and recent first overall selection Jack Hughes comes in on top. The list includes 11 others from the 2019 draft, but is also led by names like Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar who made their NHL debuts at the end of last season. Notably the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers each have two players in the top-10, giving them plenty of hope for the future—and the present, if Makar and Kaapo Kakko have anything to say about it.
Snapshots: Off-Season, College Free Agents, Bratislava
Three weeks into free agency, it’s fair to begin analyzing how teams have improved this off-season, even though there are still several notable UFA’s who remain unsigned. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn did just that, using his predictive model to look at which team has done the most this summer. Topping the list, unsurprisingly, are the New York Rangers, who have added Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, and Adam Fox among others. Although some have been critical of their contract details, the Florida Panthers come in a close second after adding Sergei Bobrovsky, Anton Stralman, Brett Connolly, and Noel Acciari. The Vancouver Canucks (Tyler Myers, J.T. Miller, Micheal Ferland), Chicago Blackhawks (Robin Lehner, Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta), and Washington Capitals (Radko Gudas, Richard Panik, Garnet Hathaway) round out the top five off-season performers, per Luszczyszyn. His bottom team, very obviously, is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who faced an almost-impossible task of improving with Panarin, Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel all hitting the open market. The addition of Gustav Nyquist is a nice move, but not enough to keep them from being the team that was hurt the most this summer. Even the nearest team, the San Jose Sharks, are not that close in terms of projected wins lost, and they have added no new players of note this summer. Fortunately, for Columbus and several other teams who have failed to improve but have the cap space to do so, there are a number of good players still available in free agency and salary cap crunches and restricted free agent dilemmas across the league will likely force substantial talent onto the trade block before the new season gets underway.
- Another way that teams may be able to improve this summer is by adding some soon-to-be-available college free agents next month. While it’s not the most talented class and lacks any star standouts like years past, the August NCAA group could provide some minor league depth a potential NHL upside to a number of teams. Expect Quinnipiac offensive blue liner Chase Priskie to be the most sought-after target. The following are the players set to become free agents on August 15th, along with the team that drafted them:
F Brent Gates, University of Minnesota (ANA)
D Steven Ruggiero, Lake Superior State University (ANA)
F Christopher Brown, Boston University (BUF) – signed to AHL deal with WBS
D Ivan Chukarov, University of Massachusetts (BUF)
F Max Willman, Boston University (BUF)
F Beau Starrett, Cornell University (CHI)
G Chase Perry, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (DET)
D Vincent Desharnais, Providence College (EDM) – signed to AHL deal with Bakersfield
F J.D. Dudek, Boston College (EDM)
G Hayden Hawkey, Providence College (EDM)
F Joe Wegwerth, University of Notre Dame (FLA)
D Nick Boka, University of Michigan (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Jack Sadek, University of Minnesota (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Nikolas Koberstein, University of Alaska-Fairbanks (MTL)
F Thomas Novak, University of Minnesota (NSH) – signed to AHL deal with Milwaukee
D Miles Gendron, University of Connecticut (OTT) – signed to AHL deal with Belleville
F Brendan Warren, University of Michigan (PHI) – signed to ECHL deal with Indy
F Jacob Jackson, Michigan Tech University (SJS)
G Jake Kupsky, Union College (SJS)
F Marcus Vela, University of New Hampshire (SJS)
D Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac University (WSH)
F Steven Spinner, University of Nebraska-Omaha (WSH)
- HC Slovan Bratislava is enjoying an active off-season, signing eight players, but it’s still unclear where they’ll be playing next season. Bratislava announced in May that it would be leaving the KHL and re-joining the Slovakina Extraliga. However, Slovakian news source Sport.SK says that it’s not that simple. The club owes a total debt of $3MM to 60 players who were not fully compensated when Bratislava last played for their national league. Until that debt is square, the league could block their re-entry. As of now, Bratislava has offered to pay 30% of the debt up front and then negotiate payment schedules with the former players to cover the rest of the outstanding debt. The league has until August 7th to make a decision about the team’s future, either granting them a license to participate or not, but in the meantime they have officially signed eight players with the expectation of playing this season and Sport.SK reports that at least seven more are waiting to sign on. One such player waiting to see how things play out is former NHL defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who captained the team over the past three years in the KHL. One would expect the most well-known pro team in Slovakia to gain entrance back into the top native league, but unpaid player salaries is a sensitive issue in Europe and there could be more hoops to jump through before anything becomes official.
Snapshots: Maroon, Rantanen, Ryczek, Puutio
Defending Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon tells NHL.com’s Lou Korac that “it’s tough right now” for veterans to find a contract. Given the meager increase of the salary cap and the immense number of restricted free agents still unsigned, there has been a considerable break in unrestricted free agent signings over the past week or two. 14 of PHR’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents still remain available, including Maroon, with little chatter pertaining to any of them. Maroon at least offers a glimmer of hope for his own situation, also informing Korac that he has had discussions with GM Doug Armstrong about a return to his hometown St. Louis Blues, saying that they’ve “had good conversations.” However, the Blues still have four RFA’s to sign, including three potential arbitration cases in Joel Edmundson, Oskar Sundqvist, and Ville Husso. Maroon will also be looking for fair value from St. Louis after taking a hometown discount last summer and becoming a key contributor for the team down the stretch and in the postseason. An extension won’t come easy for either side, but both parties and fans would surely like to see Maroon back in town next season. He and other unsigned veterans may just have to wait a while longer for offers to finally come through.
- On the off chance that RFA Mikko Rantanen and the Colorado Avalanche cannot come to terms on an extension this summer, his KHL rights holder is preparing their pursuit. However, it’s not exactly a Godfather offer. Sport Express’ Igor Eronko reports that Ak Bars Kazan is willing to offer Rantanen a one-year, $4MM contract. While Eronko notes the lower tax rate in Russia and lack of escrow concerns, it’s still a very underwhelming number for a 22-year-old star forward coming off back-to-back 80+ point seasons. The Avalanche would be happy to top that salary, even taking the differences in tax and escrow into consideration. Rantanen is well within his right to be seeking a long-term contract with an AAV of $10MM+ or at least a bridge deal in the $8MM range, so Ak Bars’ offer is unlikely to move the needle toward a return to Europe.
- Chicago Blackhawks prospect Jake Ryczek will have to prove himself in the AHL before earning an entry-level contract. The 21-year-old defenseman has signed a one-year deal with Chicago’s affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs, the team announced. Ryczek was a 2016 seventh-round pick, expected to be a long-term project developing at Providence College. Instead, Ryczek left the Friars midway through his freshman year and joined the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. The problem now is that Ryczek has aged out of the junior level with just a year and half of QMJHL experience and is still a raw prospect. Rather than use a limited roster spot to sign an unproven commodity, the Blackhawks will see what he can do in the AHL for the time being. Ryczek remains Chicago’s exclusive property until June 1st of next year.
- The first overall pick in the CHL Import Draft has signed. Finnish defenseman Kasper Puutio, taken at No. 1 by the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos in June, has officially joined the team. Puutio began turning heads this past season when he was called up to the top level of Finland’s junior ranks at the age of 16 and performed well to boot. Draft source Future Considerations ranks Puutio as the No. 67 prospect for the 2020 NHL Draft in their early initial rankings, but some have called him a first-round caliber player, and that was before he joined the Canadian junior ranks. If he can continue to grow and produce in the more competitive WHL as a very young prospect, he could easily climb into the top 31 picks next year. Either way, the Broncos hope that they can take advantage of his puck-moving ability and competent defensive game for several years to come.
Snapshots: Boikov, Morrow, Kings
The Colorado Avalanche won’t be bringing Sergei Boikov back for another season in the AHL, at least not in 2019-20. The 23-year old defenseman has returned to the KHL to play for Dynamo Moscow, signing a two-year contract. Boikov is a restricted free agent for the time being, and since Colorado issued him a qualifying offer they will retain his exclusive rights.
Selected in the sixth round of the 2015 draft, Boikov had already been playing in North America for two seasons. He remained for another year in the QMJHL before jumping to the professional ranks, where he has suited up the last two seasons for Colorado’s AHL affiliate. The 6’2″ defenseman has some upside as a shutdown defender, but will try to take his offensive game to another level back in Russia.
- The Dallas Stars have announced several changes to the business side of the front office, including hiring former captain Brenden Morrow as the Director of Business and Hockey Development. Morrow played 835 regular season games for the Stars across parts of 13 seasons, captaining them for seven of those. He finished his career with 575 points in 991 games. A gold medalist at the Olympics, World Championship and World Cup, Morrow certainly has a winning pedigree when it comes to hockey.
- Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times expects there to be at least one restricted free agent signing by the Los Angeles Kings today, which makes sense given it is the final day those who were issued qualifying offers can accept them. Adrian Kempe, Matt Roy, Michael Amadio, Sheldon Rempal, Daniel Brickley and Calvin Petersen are all still unsigned, and even the ones who were eligible (Petersen, Roy) did not file for arbitration. The team already has 43 contracts on the books, but maintains some flexibility since several of those will not count towards the total as they are headed back to their junior or European clubs.
Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Marner, Boqvist
The Columbus Blue Jackets have made several changes in their front office, adding Craig Hartsburg, Troy Dumville, Mikko Makela and Lukas Suter to their scouting department while hiring Niklas Backstrom as a European goaltending coach, Zac Urback as a hockey analyst and Jon Hamre as a video coach. Danny Flynn, Dave Peters and Jared Boll have all been promoted to full-time. Chris Morehouse, Marshall Davidson, Derek Ginnell and Austin Powell have all left the organization.
One name that might stick out is Backstrom, who had a long NHL career with the Minnesota Wild. The 41-year old goaltender actually played in Finland the last three seasons, even going 11-2-1 with a .920 save percentage for Tappara Tampere in 2018-19. Backstrom appeared in 413 NHL games over his career (just four of which were with a team other than the Wild) but will now transition into the next chapter of his hockey story.
- Speaking of the Blue Jackets, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic tweeted today that Columbus did indeed speak with Mitch Marner‘s camp at some point this summer about a potential offer sheet, but he sees “no indication” that the young forward wants to leave the Toronto Maple Leafs. Marner’s name has been brought up in offer sheet speculation for months, but no team has yet convinced him to actually sign one. The Blue Jackets can only sign an offer sheet in the highest or lowest compensation tiers (either over $10.57MM or under $1.4MM AAV) because of their current draft pick situation.
- New Jersey Devils assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald spoke with Corey Masisak of The Athletic today, and explained that prospect Jesper Boqvist will either be playing in New Jersey or Sweden next season. The 20-year old center just scored 35 points in 51 games for Brynas in the SHL, but won’t be spending any time in the AHL this year. A second-round pick from 2017, Boqvist is a talented offensive player who signed his entry-level contract last month with the Devils but also had his contract with Brynas extended in February.
Snapshots: Sabres, Gardiner, Tkachyov
Few have criticized the Sabres’ side of the recent Henri Jokiharju–Alexander Nylander trade, but it’s a fact that Buffalo is overflowing with defenders after acquiring the young right-hander from the Chicago Blackhawks. As Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News’ points out, the Sabres still have needs to fill up front and they could use their defensive depth to do so. Lysowski writes that Buffalo has ample cap space to make an addition at forward, but there are few ideal candidates left on the free agent market and the team may as well use their surplus of blue liners to swing a deal. Jokiharju is safe, as are fellow recent additions Brandon Montour and Colin Miller and 2017 No. 1 pick Rasmus Dahlin. RFA Jake McCabe is not likely to be dealt, but a potential candidate and injury-prone Zach Bogosian and overpaid veteran Matt Hunwick might be hard to move. That would seemingly leave Rasmus Ristolainen, a fixture on the rumor mill, Marco Scandella, and Casey Nelson as the most likely names to be dealt and it would not be a surprise if more than one ends up elsewhere. The Sabres are certainly not done making moves this summer.
- Of course, this makes Buffalo just one of a surprising number of teams not biting on Jake Gardiner this summer. PHR’s top-ranked UFA defenseman, Gardiner remains unsigned more than a week after the market opened. NBC Sports’ Scott Billeck reports that Gardiner is seeking $7MM annually in his next year, which is likely pricing himself out of the range that many D-needy teams are looking for. It’s hard to argue that Gardiner was not the best available defenseman when free agency opened, but he’s also not a top-pair defenseman by most metrics and teams aren’t willing to shell out right now simply due to a weak market. Billeck names the Winnipeg Jets as a team that could use Gardiner, but can’t afford him at his current asking price. The Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and his own Toronto Maple Leafs also fit that description. Billeck feels the New Jersey Devils could be the leading candidate to land Gardiner right now, but there really aren’t many clear fits for the defender at this time unless he changes his expectations.
- Despite flirting with a jump to the NHL for several years, Vladimir Tkachyov has decided to re-sign in the KHL once again. SKA St. Petersburg has announced an extension with the young scorer. Tkachyov, 23, has been a solid offensive contributor for the past several years but the best may still be yet to come. The winger was acquired by SKA last month from Salavat Yulaev Ufa for the rights to Nikita Soshnikov, who has since signed in Ufa, and Tkachyov could be set for some career-highs with the perennial contenders in St. Petersburg. It is a two-year contract with SKA, so Tkachyov has a couple more years to further prove he is a formidable forward, and could very well drawn NHL attention once again in 2021.
Snapshots: Appleby, Skinner, Knights
Goaltender Ken Appleby will have to settle for an AHL contract again this season. The 24-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Admirals, affiliate of the Nashville Predators, the team announced. Appleby spent much of last season on a minor league contract with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, but was signed to an NHL deal at the trade deadline to serve as a depth option for the Winnipeg Jets. Appleby will hope that his play earns him another NHL contract, during this season or next summer.
Appleby continues to be a tough keeper to nail down. A standout with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, Appleby earned a three-year entry level contract with the New Jersey Devils as an undrafted prospect. In his first pro season in 2015-16, Appleby largely played in the ECHL, but put up good numbers and performed well in limited AHL action. The next year, he again dominated in ECHL to begin the year but quickly was called up to play a key role in the AHL and put up good albeit unspectacular numbers. In the final year of his ELC, Appleby’s AHL performance slipped somewhat, but he made three NHL appearances and was stellar, posting a .945 save percentage and 1.45 GAA. Yet, Appleby inexplicably failed to garner NHL attention last summer and, after signing with Manitoba, struggled greatly in the AHL and ended up back down in the ECHL. It’s unclear what to expect from the roller coaster goaltender, but at the very least the Admirals add an experienced netminder who has shown flashes of brilliance.
- New York Rangers prospect Hunter Skinner is shifting his development plan. A fourth-round pick out of the USHL last month, Skinner was expected to play one more year of junior before heading to Western Michigan University. That all changed today when Skinner signed with the OHL’s London Knights, effectively ruling out the NCAA route. London used a fifth-round pick on Skinner in the 2017 OHL Draft and have made good on that gamble by convincing Skinner to change lanes and play major junior. However, it comes as a bit of a surprise that the Michigan native backed out of his WMU commitment. A big right-handed defenseman who is ahead of the game physically but still raw in his skill and IQ, the Rangers reached for Skinner in the fourth round. It’s not a stretch to think that they used that leverage to influence this decision, perhaps preferring to see Skinner play against stronger competition sooner rather than later to start developing those abilities. The Broncos are definitely disappointed to lose a promising prospect, but Skinner is in good hands in London, a premiere NHL feeder program led by Dale and Mark Hunter.
- Speaking of which, former London Knight Will Lochead has signed his first pro contract with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Lochead actually began classes at the University of Western Ontario last year and had intended to continue there, but after a breakout season opted to pursue the pro route. The aggressive defenseman recorded a career-high 17 points in 54 games for the Knights and continued to show that he is not afraid to throw his body around and play a fast-tempo game. The Thunderbirds are taking a chance on a young, undrafted player without much production to show for in his junior career, but who brings room for growth and an exciting style.